Improve Your Outdoor Photography Adventures With Naturalist Skills

Episode 114: Improve Your Outdoor Photography Adventures With Naturalist Skills

Shownotes: ConservationVisuals.com/114

(Digitally transcribed, please forgive any typos)

Jaymi Heimbuch:
[00:00:00] Jaymi: Hey there, and welcome to this quick tip episode. So last week we had sort of the first real rain of fall here on the Oregon coast where I live. That kind of rain that comes in and you know, weather wise, this is officially the transition away from any kind of summer weather and fully into fall weather.

[00:00:20] Jaymi: It was wonderful finally having that stormy, windy, rainy weather come in and really make sure that you know that you've transitioned to a new season. And so we have this woods that's near our house, and my partner Nick and I, we love to go hiking in there almost every day. So in between rainstorms and showers, we headed out into the woods for a hike with the dog.

[00:00:45] Jaymi: and it was so much fun because right away you could tell that a lot of the forest was really happy that rain was here as well. I immediately saw a western red backed salamander walking on the trail, which is kind of rare. Usually I [00:01:00] have to roll logs or look around for them, but to have them actually up moving around on the forest floor in the middle of the day.

[00:01:06] Jaymi: Just really cool to see, and there were newts absolutely everywhere. We had to really watch our step to make sure that we didn't step on a newt or a banana slug, and the mushrooms are just going crazy right now. It's that perfect time to go mushrooming. In fact, we found a chantrell that we brought home and cooked up with dinner.

[00:01:26] Jaymi: There were lobster mushrooms. I found a Rishi Mushroom and even be eats. There was just so much out there. It's like a food bonanza in the forest, right? And you know, while we were walking, one of the things that I realized was, you know, it feels really great to not only be out here seeing all this great stuff, but to know what it is that I'm looking at. So, for example, to be able to identify mushroom species and which ones we can bring home with us for dinner, and which ones to steer clear of.

[00:01:54] Jaymi: Or just evidence of other animals that are eating these mushrooms and knowing who [00:02:00] was there and the different types of wildlife that is feeding in different ways. Realizing that I could look at sign and see, okay, well this was from a squirrel, this was from an elk. Oh, a bear just came through here and, And it felt just great to be able to look out at this woods and even with my very limited naturalist knowledge to be able to recognize so much of what's going on around me. And if I don't recognize it, but I'm curious about it, to know how to ask questions and to know what to observe and take notes of so that I'd be able to look up whatever I wanted to look up when I got home,

[00:02:37] Jaymi: and you know, there's been a lot of resources that have really helped me in developing my natural skills to where they are now. Even though I have so far to go in terms of naturalist knowledge, once you really start getting into it, you realize how much there is to learn. But even for the limited amount that I have, there's been a lot of different resources that have played a big role for me. For [00:03:00] instance, I have sitting in front of me right now a book called Botany in a Day, The Patterns Method of Plant Identification. And this book has been so awesome because it gives you a way to look at plant identification in a way that is really strategic.

[00:03:15] Jaymi: So instead of feeling like you need to just memorize your field guide, it gives you a way to say, Oh, I, I recognize these patterns in the way these leaves are, or the way these pedals are. So since I recognize that pattern, I. Family it belongs to, and then therefore I can really get down into what species it is and so on.

[00:03:33] Jaymi: It gives you a way to understand how to look at something, to know more about that thing, to be able to find out more,

[00:03:41] Jaymi: and that's just one of the examples of resources that have really helped to train my brain. And not just knowing things, but knowing how to learn things that I wanna learn about when it comes to nature, whether it's track or sign or species, whatever it may be. And that's played a huge [00:04:00] role in my photography because not only does it give me great information for what species are around and what they're up to, and understanding what behavior's going on and when to expect species to appear so that I can be able to photograph them, but it's also, I think, fueled curiosity and curiosity fuels my photography, not only from what I actually create photos of,

[00:04:27] Jaymi: but in formulating projects, in identifying stories that I wanna tell in digging deeper into ideas so that I really get at the heart of something that is the spark of a great story or a great project or a great lead into another idea that I might wanna pursue.

[00:04:46] Jaymi: And because I feel so deeply about these naturalist skills and what a gift it is to start to dig into them, I feel really strongly about helping everybody else dig into naturalist skills too. If this is something that is even [00:05:00] remotely a curiosity for you and as a nature photographer, I'm sure it is.

[00:05:05] Jaymi: I feel really passionate about sharing resources, whatever I'm studying or ways to get started. So I have a resource that I really want to put into your hands

[00:05:16] Jaymi: it's a guide for five naturalist skills that transform your photography and inside of it, I dig into what the five skills are. These five skills that I think are the absolute , for sure starting point for anyone who wants to build their naturalist skills. And then I dig into the resources that I've used to be able to develop those.

[00:05:38] Jaymi: I've even included some of the templates that I use in my own naturalist practice. So you have templates that you can just start using right away. So if you're curious about what kind of naturalist skills could help advance your photography or where to get started, or if you already have skills where to dig in deeper, [00:06:00] I'd absolutely love for you to download this free guide. It's absolutely free.

[00:06:06] Jaymi: You can get it in the show notes of this episode or by typing into your browser, jamie h.com. Forward slash skills, J A Y m ih.com/skills and you can download the guide for free. It is talk full of information and exercises and resources and

[00:06:28] Jaymi: I know for a fact that my photography has gotten better because of the time that I've invested outside of it, studying all of this stuff, and also just walks in the woods are that much more fun. Paddles on the river are that much more fun. Even walks around the city are that much more fun when you can really engage with the nature that is happening around you. So I hope that this guide is something that you find really useful and fun. Again, you can get it for free by going to [00:07:00] jh.com/skills, J A Y M I H. Dot com slash skills. Enjoy, head outside, go play in the mud or the rain or whatever environment you're in.

[00:07:14] Jaymi: Go have fun out in the dirt and the bright, clear sky, and if you are enjoying these quick tip episodes and you don't wanna miss a single one, just make sure that you're subscribed to this podcast. So from wherever you're listening to this podcast now, just hit pause and make sure to tap the subscribe button, and that way you'll get every quick tip episode when they roll out.

[00:07:36] Jaymi: I don't always share or advertise that a new episode is out like I do with my main Tuesday episodes. So if you. Them right when they roll out. Just make sure to subscribe to the podcast and meanwhile, I will talk to you again next week.